Internet Protocol (IP) forwarding is based on host-to-host communication principle, i.e., the communication is assumed to take place between two static end points. IP forwarding is sender-oriented, i.e., the receiver has no control of specifying the properties related to the information it desires, for example, content version, publisher, etc. Also, knowing the location of the users allows a vicious sender to spam them with unwanted content. Today, IP routers do not support applications seeking popular content that can be efficiently delivered using content multicasting technique such as in-network caching, nor are network functions such as mobility and security supported efficiently. Considering the growth in user driven multimedia content today, Content Distribution Network (CDN) has been developed to support content distribution. However, CDN is a technology overlaid over IP and is application specific.
As an alternative approach, Information-Centric Networking (ICN) research addresses these issues by shifting the communication paradigm from a host-to-host model to a host-to-content model. In this case, user requirements are translated into packet data units that contain the name of the information sought with associated metadata. A router, upon receiving such a query, resolves it to itself if it has a cached copy of the data or forwards it along the direction where the content can be obtained. In addition, all the ICN solutions have inherent support for mobility and security. One of the drawbacks of the ICN proposal and of CDN as of today is that they are either clean-slate, which replaces IP protocol stacks, or require introducing new overlaid proprietary protocol (such as implementing Distributed Hash Table (DHT) or Domain Name System (DNS) redirection) in the provider's domain. Both of these approaches are prone to high Capital Expense (CAPEX) and Operational Expense (OPEX) as initial investment by the provider, which causes delay in implementing these solutions that aim to improve network efficiency and that may also reduce overall operating cost for the provider.